CWE-1246 Base Incomplete

Improper Write Handling in Limited-write Non-Volatile Memories

This vulnerability occurs when a system fails to properly manage write operations on memory hardware that has a limited lifespan, such as Flash or EEPROM. Without correct wear leveling, specific…

Definition

What is CWE-1246?

This vulnerability occurs when a system fails to properly manage write operations on memory hardware that has a limited lifespan, such as Flash or EEPROM. Without correct wear leveling, specific memory cells wear out faster than intended, leading to premature device failure.
Many non-volatile memory chips, like NAND Flash and EEPROM, have a fundamental physical limitation: each memory cell can only be written to or erased a finite number of times. To maximize the overall lifespan of the storage device, a technique called wear leveling is essential. It works by dynamically mapping the system's logical write requests across different physical memory blocks, ensuring that write cycles are distributed evenly instead of repeatedly hitting the same cells. If wear leveling is missing or implemented incorrectly, it creates a critical weakness. An attacker can exploit this by deliberately targeting the same logical addresses with frequent write operations. This causes the underlying physical cells to wear out rapidly, potentially bricking the storage device or making data unreliable far sooner than its rated endurance, which constitutes a denial-of-service attack against the hardware itself.
Auswirkungen in der Praxis

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-1246

Bisher sind in MITREs Katalog keine öffentlichen CVE-Referenzen mit dieser CWE verknüpft.

Wie Angreifer es ausnutzen

Angreiferpfad Schritt für Schritt

  1. 1

    An attacker can render a memory line unusable by repeatedly causing a write to the memory line.

  2. 2

    Below is example code from [REF-1058] that the user can execute repeatedly to cause line failure. W is the maximum associativity of any cache in the system; S is the size of the largest cache in the system.

  3. 3

    Without wear leveling, the above attack will be successful. Simple randomization of blocks will not suffice as instead of the original physical block, the randomized physical block will be worn out.

Verwundbares Codebeispiel

Vulnerable C++

Below is example code from [REF-1058] that the user can execute repeatedly to cause line failure. W is the maximum associativity of any cache in the system; S is the size of the largest cache in the system.

Verwundbar C++ 
// Do aligned alloc of (W+1) arrays each of size S
 while(1) {

```
   for (ii = 0; ii < W + 1; ii++)
  	 array[ii].element[0]++;
 }
Angreifer-Payload

Below is example code from [REF-1058] that the user can execute repeatedly to cause line failure. W is the maximum associativity of any cache in the system; S is the size of the largest cache in the system.

Angreifer-Payload C++ 
// Do aligned alloc of (W+1) arrays each of size S
 while(1) {

```
   for (ii = 0; ii < W + 1; ii++)
  	 array[ii].element[0]++;
 }
Sicheres Codebeispiel

Secure Other

Without wear leveling, the above attack will be successful. Simple randomization of blocks will not suffice as instead of the original physical block, the randomized physical block will be worn out.

Sicher Other 
Wear leveling must be used to even out writes to the device.
What changed: the unsafe sink is replaced (or the input is validated/escaped) so the same payload no longer triggers the weakness.
Präventions-Checkliste

How to prevent CWE-1246

  • Architecture and Design / Implementation / Testing Include secure wear leveling algorithms and ensure they may not be bypassed.
Erkennungssignale

How to detect CWE-1246

SAST High

Führe statische Analyse (SAST) auf der Codebasis aus und suche im Datenfluss nach dem unsicheren Muster.

DAST Moderate

Führe dynamische Application-Security-Tests gegen den Live-Endpoint aus.

Runtime Moderate

Beobachte Runtime-Logs auf ungewöhnliche Exception-Traces, fehlerhafte Eingaben oder Versuche, Autorisierung zu umgehen.

Code review Moderate

Code Review: Markiere jeden neuen Code, der Eingaben von dieser Oberfläche ohne validierte Framework-Helper verarbeitet.

Plexicus Auto-Fix

Plexicus erkennt CWE-1246 automatisch und öffnet in unter 60 Sekunden einen Fix-PR.

Codex Remedium scannt jeden Commit, identifiziert genau diese Schwachstelle und liefert einen reviewer-ready Pull Request mit dem Patch. Keine Tickets. Keine Hand-offs.

Demo anfordern Plexicus kostenlos testen
Häufig gestellte Fragen

Frequently asked questions

Was ist CWE-1246?

This vulnerability occurs when a system fails to properly manage write operations on memory hardware that has a limited lifespan, such as Flash or EEPROM. Without correct wear leveling, specific memory cells wear out faster than intended, leading to premature device failure.

Wie gravierend ist CWE-1246?

MITRE hat für diese Schwachstelle keine Exploit-Wahrscheinlichkeit veröffentlicht. Behandle sie als mittlere Auswirkung, bis dein Threat Model anderes belegt.

Welche Sprachen oder Plattformen sind von CWE-1246 betroffen?

MITRE lists the following affected platforms: Not OS-Specific, Not Architecture-Specific, System on Chip, Memory Hardware, Storage Hardware.

Wie kann ich CWE-1246 verhindern?

Include secure wear leveling algorithms and ensure they may not be bypassed.

Wie erkennt und behebt Plexicus CWE-1246?

Die SAST-Engine von Plexicus erkennt die Datenfluss-Signatur von CWE-1246 bei jedem Commit. Bei einem Treffer öffnet unser Codex-Remedium-Agent einen Fix-PR mit korrigiertem Code, Tests und einer einzeiligen Zusammenfassung für den Reviewer.

Wo erfahre ich mehr über CWE-1246?

MITRE veröffentlicht die kanonische Definition unter https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1246.html. Für ergänzende Hinweise kannst du auch die OWASP- und NIST-Dokumentation heranziehen.

Verwandte Schwachstellen

Weaknesses related to CWE-1246

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CWE-779 Sibling

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CWE-920 Sibling

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Ressourcen

Further reading

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